Tehran, Jan 12, IRNA -- Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, the pre-sermons speaker of the Tehran Friday Prayer this week, said that the patriotic-religious intellectuals' belief in God is comparable with Satan's belief in Him.
The Qom Seminary theology professor opined so after quoting a question by some individuals, "wether the patriotic-religious intellectuals, too, are believers in God, or not?"

He further elaborated on by posing the question, "should such individuals be commemorated in our society and be treated as great cultural figures, then?"

The theology professor himself replied, "naturally not, since they too, like Satan, ask questions in God's authority, and therefore, deserve to be treated the way we should treat Satan, since they keep doing the same thing that he once did"

Ayatollah Mesbah also said that these intellectuals believe that modern man has no commitment towards God and all he has to do is to safeguard his own interests. "Therefore, even if God does not approve of some of the rights they elieve they should enjoy, they would not hesitate in rioting against Him either. O! Death with such wayward human beings!" He said.

Mesbah further added that the satans of our era and those who call themselves patriotic-religious and religious intellectuals have gone so far today as to claim that the reason why man is referred to as `God's salve' is the ruling culture at the advent of Islam.

The Ayatollah said that this is the typical mentality of the modern era man, and that is the logic that (the intellectuals) wish to romote in Iran today. "That is the basis of their training for our youth and our university students," he regretted, "and the people who are supposed to encounter them are unfortunately expressing pride that they are providing for the ground for their activities."

Elsewhere in his furious remarks, the orthodox-conservative theoretician referred to the religious pluralism issue raised by some of these intellectuals arguing, "according to their version of Islam, t is not against piety even to deny God, and such a sensitive issue is regarded as a `secondary matter in belief' based on their teachings!"

Ayatollah Mesbah clearly referred to an article entitled, `The Innate Nature of Religion and the Secondary Issues,' in which one of these intellectuals has referred to `belief in God' as a secondary atter of importance for a monotheist!

"Such people have now targeted the beliefs of our youth and are either Satan himself, themselves, or they have become tools in the hands of the satans issuing orders overseas.""